Is Irene Moody?

I noted Irene’s absence of headphones-on-her-head, of course, but it wasn’t until I scanned the comments that I took notice of her general air of not-with-thisness:

In the comments, a number of people think she’s in bad health, or outright pissed off.

—Is irene okay? She was barely moving, she looked so serious, the others looked like they were having fun. She was dead inside, like me.

—Irene is like “Fuck headphones”

—Irene she doesn’t like loud noise right is that why she not wearing the headphone

—i don’t think she is [well], i read an interview of her recently and she sounded hella depressed. she was talking about how she never looks at herself in the mirror and she likes being alone all the time or smth. i mean same, but living the idol lifestyle and feeling that way….

—i wonder whats up with irene

And so forth. Well, it makes me wonder and worry too, but it also reminded me I wrote something about Irene’s moodiness a little over a year ago:

Irene at first reminds me of Dal Shabet’s Serri, which is to say “loveable idiot”, but her standoffishness appeals to me and suggests hidden reserves. Seulgi kinda seems like a real idiot. So cute and talented!, but– . . . . Joy, as expected, is the winner: roundly, winsome, with a Hwayoung-like sauciness.

Actually Joy might be a really destructive girl to date, so Irene might be the all-round best choice. Maybe I could flirt up Joy just to bounce some DMV in front of Irene and then pivot onto her later in the evening. I mean, like, to get her number and everything and make her marry me and all.

[Ed.: I’d like to have 1488 words with you about this “marriage” prospect, Mickey!] Hold your horses Bob, strictly poetry here. But the thing is, I had forgotten about this “Irene is moody” diagnosis! But there it is, from my horse’s mouth, last September. So perhaps Irene really is an “IDGAF”, as some of the youtube commenters put it, personality. Or perhaps she really is introspective above and beyond the expected happy measure of a famous girl group’s leader. Or perhaps, during the performance above, she really did have a headache (or those famously screwy soundsets were having another technical jag, like they did when Rainbow was performing “Black Swan” and “Bad Man Crying”?), and on other occasions she’s just chicly moody.

Well, I hope she is well, and at least happy enough to go on promoting with Red Velvet for years to come. I’ll have to keep a sharper eye on her from now on though– both out of solicitude for her wellbeing, and from renewed amorous curiosity to survey the prospective charms of her aloof and frosty manner!